10:29 AM EST, 11/15/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Spectrum Brands' ( SPB ) fiscal fourth-quarter earnings declined more than expected, while sales beat analysts' estimates amid volume gains in home and garden, as well as global pet care.

The consumer products company's per-share adjusted earnings came in at $0.97 for the three-month period ended September, down from $1.12 the year before. The consensus on Capital IQ was for normalized EPS of $1.07. The stock fell 3.1% in Friday trading.

Sales increased 4.5% to $773.7 million, topping Wall Street's view for $747.5 million. Revenue grew across all segments with higher volumes in the global pet care segment, favorable weather conditions and sales growth in home appliance and personal care, according to the company.

"We exceeded our annual operating plans on virtually every metric and all of our businesses returned to growth in the second half of the year, in spite of the challenging economic and geopolitical conditions that are impacting consumer demand," Chief Executive David Maura said in a statement.

Sales in the home and personal care business rose 4.1% to $336.3 million. Home and garden sales climbed 7.7% to $134.9 million, buoyed by higher volumes amid double-digit growth in controls and repellents and low single-digit gains in household. Global pet care advanced 3.5% to $302.5 million.

For fiscal 2025, Spectrum Brands ( SPB ) anticipates low-single-digit growth in sales, while the Street is looking for $2.99 billion. In the just-ended fiscal year, revenue rose by 1.5% to $2.96 billion. "Despite the overall challenging macro-economic environment, we intend to make incremental investments in fiscal 2025 to drive top-line growth," Maura said.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization is expected to grow by mid- to high-single-digits in fiscal 2025, according to the company. Adjusted free cash flow is forecast to be roughly 50% of adjusted EBITDA.

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